Instagram Jump Start: These moonshine Fords really deliver

Although separating fact from fiction can sometimes be difficult, few would dispute the direct line between bootlegging and NASCAR’s early days. Maybe that’s why racing fans and classic car enthusiasts are equally fascinated with souped-up moonshine cars. It should come as no surprise then that a photo of two moonshine Fords was the most-liked Instagram post on HagertyClassicCars last week.

Meanwhile, the same 1948 Tucker (owned by the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Mich.) showed up in two of the top four posts. Jump start your week and check out the top five:

1. 1939 and 1948 Ford moonshine cars (1,738 likes) — “Moonshiners put more time, energy, thought, and love into their cars than any racers ever will. Lose on the track and you go home. Lose with a load of whiskey and you go to jail.” — Junior Johnson. Photograph by @evankleinfilms.
   

2. 1948 Tucker (1,519 likes) — Built in an enormous Chicago plant, the Tucker was originally engineered to utilize a 589-cid fuel-injected, boxer-six that was made of aluminum. But that engine encountered several problems during development and ultimately produced less than 90 hp, which was too little for the car. In its stead, a 335-cid air-cooled helicopter engine (converted to water-cooling for road use) was installed instead. The engine produced 166 hp and 372 lb-ft of torque and could propel the car to a top speed of nearly 120 mph. Photograph by @toddkraemer.
   

3. BMW and friends (1,292 likes) — It’s nice to have choices! Photograph by @toddkraemer.
   

4. 1961 Lincoln Continental, 1970 Citroen DS21 Aero Super, 1952 Hudson Hornet and 1948 Tucker (1,249 likes) — Now that’s color coordination! Photograph by @trahanphoto.
   

5. 1960s Chevrolet Corvair (1,092 likes) — The 1960s Chevrolet Corvair had an air-cooled, horizontally opposed six-cylinder (sometimes turbocharged) engine. If you can’t afford a Porsche, maybe the Corvair can be your air-cooled, turbo-charged, flat-six sports car. Photograph by @toddkraemer.
   

You Like It, We Love It — Every week there’s a photo on HagertyClassicCars that we think deserved a lot more likes than it received. This black-and-white shot of a Volkswagen Beetle is one of those.

Best of the Rest — Spring is in the air, and that means one thing for car-crazy folks living in colder climes: it’s time to rouse our rides from their winter slumber. This photo (by @ijsap) of an MGA prepped and ready for a sun-kissed cruise really got us fired up to take a drive of our own. It’s our favorite photo of the week.